Fire-extinguisher.



W. A. COLE.-

. FIRE EXTlNGUlSHER.

APPLICATION man APR.24.19|6.

\ Patented Dee. 25, 1917.

sfrafrns rar-iena? ernten,

WILLIAM A. COLE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO IRVIN S. BERKMANN, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

Application filed April 24, 1916.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. COLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in F ireExtinguishers, of which the following is a full, clear concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in fire extinguishers.

The object of the invention is to provide a hand operated fire extinguisher which is of simple construction, comprised of few parts which may be cheaply manufactured, and so arranged that the same may be readily operated and in any position.

Another and more specific object of the invention is to provide a fire extinguisher of the type above indicated wherein is employed a piston or plunger arrangement so constructed that the container may be easily refilled at any time without the necessity of taking anything apart.

The invention furthermore consists in the improvements in the parts and devices and in the novel combination of the parts and devices herein shown, described, or claimed.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section of an extinguisher embodying my improvements, parts being broken away in order to prevent crowding, the full lines indicating the normal position of the parts and dotted lines indicating positions which the parts assume when operated. Figs. 2, 3 and 4c are transverse sectional views of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1 and taken on the lines 22, 3 3 and 1 1 thereof respectively. And Fig. 5 is a lay-out of the sleeve member employed in my arrangement.

In said drawing, 10 denotes a container which is preferably of cylindrical form, the same having rigidly attached thereto end caps 11 and 12. The container is divided on its interior, into chambers by means of a fixed partition 13 which is preferably soldered to the container 10. The partition 13 is so located that a small chamber is formed near the head end of the extinguisher and a Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 93,248.

much larger chamber on the other side of the partition and within which is contained the lire extinguishing liquid and the piston or plunger arrangement hereinafter described. The cap 11 is provided centrally thereof with a substantially conical protuberance 14 having a small opening 15 at its outer end through which the fire extinguishing liquid is drawn into the container and forced out of the container. The conical portion 11 forms a seat for a correspondingly shaped end 16 on a piston rod 17, the latter extending through the partition 13 and other end cap 12. As will be apparent, the conical end 16 will close the opening in the end cap 11 when the parts are in the position shown by full lines in Fig. 1.

Slidably mounted within the container 10 is a piston or plunger 18 having a circumferential groove 19 within which is preferably mounted a ring of felt 20 or other suitable packing material. Cn its inner end, said piston 1S is provided with a leather washer 21 suitably backed by a metal disk 22 which in turn is held in place by a washer nut 23 mounted on a threaded extension 24: of the piston. In order to prevent liquid passing through the piston through the perforation within which the piston rod 17 extends, I have provided packing 25 held in place by a packing nut 26. The piston 18 is provided with means for automatically clutching the piston rod 17 whenever the latter is moved to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, said means being also so designed that the rod 17 can be moved freely in the other direction relatively to the piston. In the` drawings I have shown one form of such a clutch mechanism and as shown, the same comprises preferably three balls 27 arranged cqui-distantly around the circumference of the piston rod 17. Each of said balls 27 is mounted in a hole 28 in the piston, said holes being inclined relatively to the axis of the piston. In back of each of the balls 27 is a slidably mounted plug 29 which engages one end of a spring 30, all of said springs 30 being 'held in place in the piston by means of a disk 31 soldered or otherwise rigidly secured to the outer end of the piston 18. From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the spring pressed balls 27 will Patented Dee. 25, 1917.

automatically clutch the rod 17 Whenever the latter is moved toward the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, and will at the same time permit the rod 17 to be Withdrawn to the left Without moving the piston.

In order to render the clutch mechanism inoperative, for the purpose hereinafter described, I provide a cylindrical sleeve 31 which extends around the piston rod 17 and extends through a suitable perforation in the partition 13 and into an enlarged recess 32 in the piston. Said sleeve 31 is extended to the inner end of the holes 28 and near said inner end, said sleeve 31 is provided with three cam slots 33, the arrangement of which is most clearly shoivn in Fig. 5, Which represents the sleeve laid out in the flat. In normal arrangement of the parts, each of the balls 27 Will rest in the short straight portion 3i of its corresponding cam slot 33. By rotating the sleeve 31 in the proper direction, it Will be apparent t iat the balls 27 Will be compelled to ride up the inclined portions of the cam slots 33, thus forcing the balls 27 into the holes 2S against the action of the springs 30 and thus rendering the clutch device inoperative. In order to provide means for so operating the sleeve 31, the latter is piovided ivith a flange 36 having an arm 37 which extends radially of the container 10 and .is movable through an arc corresponding to the slot 38 in the casing. The sleeve 31 is held in normal position preferably by means of a spring 39, see Fig. 2, so that the clutch will operate automatically.

The end cap 12 is provided With an exteriorly threaded sleeve Z10 through Which the piston rod 17 extends and coperable with said sleeve 40 is a preferably knurled locking nut 41 which, when threaded on the sleeve 40, holds the rod 17 in the position shoivn in full lines in F ig. 1, since the rod is provided with a rigid annular flange o1' shoulder 42 which prevents the rod from being moved toward the left. The rod 17 may be provided ivith any suitable form of handle 42 for manually operating the. same. It is necessary to maintain the clutch in the piston in proper position relatively to the cam sleeve 31 and for this purpose the rodl 17 is flattened on one side as indicated at 13, the inner extension 24 of the piston being correspondingly perforated and the sleeve 40 on the end cap 12 being similarly perforated. By this means, the piston rod is prevented from turning by the sleeve -10 and consequently the piston 18 is prevented from turning on the rod 17. In Fig. 2, it will be noted that the lever 37 extends outwardly to a point substantially Hush With the outer surface of the container 10 so that a seal la may be placed over the slot 38 to prevent tampering with the mechanism Without leaving visual evidence thereof.

rIhe normal position of the parts is shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and assuming that the container is filled with the fire extinguishing liquid and it becomes necessary to use the extinguisher, the operator merely grasps the handle 42 in one hand and the container in the other hand. The rod 17 is then Withdraivn as far as possible from the container and then forced inwardly, whereupon the piston Will be automatically clutched to the piston rod. As the pressure upon the piston rod is continued, it is apparent that the liquid will be forced in a stream through the discharge opening 15. At the end of the discharge operation, it Will be apparent that the piston will be in the position indicated by dotted lines at the right hand end of theV container, as viewed in Fig. 1 and the piston rod Will be in the position indicated by full lines. To refill the container, the right hand end thereof is immersed in the lire extinguishing liquid and the rod and piston retracted, thereby drawing in the liquid on account of the vacuum created. lVhen the container is thus filled With the liquid, the piston will be in the position indicated in full lines and the piston rod Will be in the position indicated by dotted lines in said Fig. 1. It is then necessary to move the piston rod to its normal position to close the discharge opening, While at the same time leaving the piston in its position nea-r the head end of the container. To accomplish this, the operator swings the lever 37 of the cam sleeve to the dotted position indicated in Fig. 2 which Will render thc clutch mechanism inoperative and permit the independent movement of the piston rod. As lsoon as this is accomplished, the lever 37 is released and the sleeve Will be returned to normal position under the influence of the spring 39 and the extinguisher is again ready for use. By placing the seal del over the opening 3S means are provided for indicating if the mechanism has been tampered with at any time. It will also be uncerstood that the loclr nut 4:1 is given a turn to release it from the sleeve l0 Whenever it is desired to operate the rod 17 and vice versa when it is desired to lock the rod in position. I have herein described my improvement as adapted more particularly for lire extirguishers, but it Will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the improvementv may be used to equal advantage for other purposes such as sprayers. In the event the improvement is used for a purpose requiring frequent operation of the piston and frequent refilling of the container, the lever 37 may be extended through the slot 3S as indicated in dotted lines at 45 to thereby facilitate the operation to release the clutch.

Although I have herein shown and described ivhat I noW consider the preferred embodiment of my invention, the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modilications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

l. In a device of the character described, the combination with a container having an interior partition dividing the same into relatively small and large compartments, the container being provided with a discharge opening in communication with the large compartment, of a piston slidably mounted in said large compartment, means operable from the exterior or" the container for actuating said piston, clutch means interposed between said piston and the actuating means for operatively7 connecting the same together when the piston is moved in a direction to effect discharge, and devices for rendering the clutch means inoperative, said devices including a member disposed within the small compartment and accessible for manipulation from the exterior of the container.

In a. device of the character described, the combination with a container provided with a. discharge opening, of a plunger slidably mounted within said container, a rod t'reely movable relatively to the plunger when the rod is moved in a direction away from the discharge opening, means for locking' the plunger and rod together when the rod is moved in a direction toward the discharge opening, said locking means being operative at any relative position between the rod and plunger, and means for rendering said locking means inoperative when desired.

3. In a. device of the character described, the combination with a container, of a piston slidably mounted within said container, a piston rod extending through the piston and to the outside of the container, clutch means interposed between the rod and piston and operative to lock the piston and rod together when the rod is moved in one direction, the

rod being free to slide relatively to the piston in the opposite direction, means operable from the outside of the container for rendering the clutch means inoperative when desired, and means preventing rotation of said rod to thereby maintain the clutch means in proper position.

l. In a device of the character described, the combination with a container, and a piston mounted within said container, of a piston rod extending through one end of said container, through the piston and slidable freely relatively to the piston in one direction, of automatically operative means for clutching the rod to the piston at any relative position of the rod and piston when the rod is moved in the opposite direction, and a manually operative cam for releasing said clutch when desired.

5. In a device of the character dcscribed,

the combination with a container having a discharge opening at one end thereof, of a piston slidable within said container, a piston operating rod having its inner end normally closing said opening and having its opposite end extended to the exterior ot' the container, a. clutch interposed between said piston and rod arranged to permit the rod to slide freely rela-tively to the piston when the rod is moved in a direction away from the discharge opening but to grip the rod when the latter is moved in an opposite direction, and a. clutch controller adapted to render the clutch inoperative.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination with a container divided into a small and a large compartment by a partition, the container being provided with a discharge opening from said large compartment, of a piston slidably mounted in said large compartment, a piston rod for actuating said piston, a clutch interposed between said piston and rod for locking the same together when moved in one direction, and means for rendering said clutch inoperative, said means including a member extending through said partition and having a portion thereof located within the small compartment and accessible for manipulation from the exterior of the container.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination with a container having a discharge opening, of a piston slidably mounted within said container, a piston rod for actuating said piston, and a clutch device adapted to lock said piston and rod together, said device including a plurality of spring controlled balls mounted in the piston and adapted to engage said rod.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination with a. container having a discharge opening, of a piston slidably mounted within said container, a piston rod for actuating said piston, and a clutch device adapted to lock said piston and rod together, said device including a plurality of spring controlled balls mounted in the piston and adapted to engage said rod, and means .for retracting said spring pressed balls to a position out of engagement with the rod. i

9. In a device of the character described. the combination with a container havin a discharge opening, of a piston slidaoly mounted within said container, a piston rod for actuating said piston, and a clutch device adapted to lock said piston and rod together, said device including a plurality of spring controlled balls mounted in the piston and adapted to engage said rod, said means coniprismg a sleeve surrounding the rod, the sleeve having a lever arm by which it may be manually actuated.

10. In a device of the character described, the combination with a container, of a piston slidably mounted within said container, a

piston rod extending through said piston, a plurality of spring pressed balls mounted in said piston and adapted normally to clutch the piston to the rod When the latter is moved in one direction, and a sleeve sur- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of atents, Y

said sleeve being oscillatable to thereby re tract said spring pressed balls from engagement with the rod. Y

In Witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 17th day of April, 1916.

WILLIAM A. COLE. Witness:

JOSEPH HARRIS.

Washington, D. C. 

